Craps

, circa 1912 Craps developed in the United States from a simplification of the western European game of Hazard, also spelled Hazzard a detailed description of Hazard was provided by Edmond Hoyle in ''Hoyle's Games, Improved'' (1790). which in Hazard are instant-losing numbers for the first dice roll, regardless of the shooter's selected main number. According to some accounts, Hazard was brought from London to New Orleans in approximately 1805 by the returning Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville, the young gambler and scion of a family of wealthy landowners in colonial Louisiana. Hazard allows the dice shooter to choose any number from five to nine as their "main" number; in a pamphlet published in 1933, Edward Tinker claimed that Marigny simplified the game by making the main always seven, Field hands taught their friends and deckhands, who carried the new game up the Mississippi River and its tributaries, although the game was never popular amongst the riverboat gamblers. which eventually spread throughout America by the 1910s, The craps numbers of 2, 3, and 12 are similarly derived from Hazard. If the main is seven, then the two-dice sum of twelve is added to the crabs as a losing number on the first dice roll. This condition is retained in the simplified game called Pass. All three losing numbers (2, 3, and 12) on the first roll of Pass are jointly called the craps numbers. As introduced by Winn, "Don't Pass" bets were taken with a 5 percent commission to ensure the house retained an edge in running the game; this was replaced by the Bar-3 push for "Don't Pass", and later by the Bar-12 (or Bar-2) push. Craps exploded in popularity during World War II, which brought most young American men of every social class into the military. The street version of craps was popular among service members who often played it using a blanket as a shooting surface. Their military memories led to craps becoming the dominant casino game in postwar Las Vegas and the Caribbean. After 1960, a few casinos in Europe, Australia, and Macau began offering craps, and, after 2004, online casinos extended the game's spread globally. Craps has been featured in a number of newer casinos, including the idea of expanding into formerly unavailable locals on the coastline. ==Bank craps==

Bank craps or casino craps is played by one or more players betting against the casino rather than each other. Dice have been retired by drilling a hole completely through between the one- and six-side faces; the four-digit serial number on the six-side face has been partially obliterated, but it started and ended with a 4. The dice used at casinos for craps and many other games are sometimes called perfect or gambling house dice. These are generally made from translucent extruded cellulose, with perfectly square edges each in length, with pips drilled deep and filled with opaque paint matching the density of cellulose, which ensures the dice remain balanced. The dice are buffed and polished to a high glossy finish after the pips are set, and the edges usually are left sharp, also called square or razor edge. To discourage cheating and dice substitution, each die carries a serial number and the casino's logo or name. Under New Jersey regulations, the shooter selects two dice from a set of at least five. Rules of play Each casino may set which bets are offered and different payouts for them, though a core set of bets and payouts is typical. Players take turns rolling two dice and whoever is throwing the dice is called the "shooter". Players can bet on the various options by placing chips directly on the appropriately-marked sections of the layout, or asking the base dealer or stickman to do so, depending on which bet is being made. While acting as the shooter, a player must have a bet on either the "Pass" or the "Don't Pass" line or both. "Pass" and "Don't Pass" are sometimes called "Win" and "Lose", "Do" and "Don't", or "Right" and "Wrong". These frequently incorporate a reminder to the dealers as to which bets to pay or collect. ;Two — "Snake Eyes", "Two Craps Two", "Double Aces", "Loose Deuce", "Snickies" : The two ones that compose it look like a pair of small, beady eyes. During actual play, more common terms are "two craps two" during the comeout roll because the Pass line bet is lost on a comeout crap roll and / or because a bet on any craps would win. "Aces; double the field" would be a more common call when not on the comeout roll to remind the dealers to pay double on the field bets and encourage the field bettor to place subsequent bets and / or when no crap bets have been placed. Another name for the two is "loose deuce" or "Snickies" due to it sounding like "Snake eyes" but spoken with an accent. ;Three — "Three Craps Three", "Ace Deuce", "Tracy", "Acey Deucy" : Typically called as "three craps three" during the comeout roll, or "three, ace deuce, come away single" when not on the comeout to signify the come bet has been lost and to pay single to any field bettors. Three may also be referred to as "ace caught a deuce", "Tracy", or even less often "acey deucey". ;Four (hard) — "Little Joe", "Joe", "Little Dick", "Little Joe from Kokomo", "Little Joe on the Front Row", "Ballerina" : usually hard, is sometimes referred to as "Little Joe from Kokomo" or "Little Joe on the front row" or just "Little Joe". A hard four can be called a "ballerina" because it is two-two ("tutu"). ;Five — "Phoebe", "Fever in the South", "West Kentucky", "No Field Five", "Fever" : is frequently called "no field five" in casinos in which five is not one of the field rolls and thus not paid in the field bets. Other names for a five are "fever" and "little Phoebe". ;Six — "Jimmie Hicks", "Jimmie Hicks from the Sticks", "666 Winner 6", "Sixty Days", "Sice" : may be referred to as "Jimmie Hicks" or "Jimmie Hicks from the sticks", examples of rhyming slang. On a win, the six is often called "666 winner 6" followed by "came hard" or "came easy". ;Seven — "Six Ace", "Up Pops the Devil", "Up Jumped the Devil", "Big Red", "Seven Out", "Seven Out Seven" : rolled as six-one is sometimes called "six ace" or "up pops the Devil". Older dealers and players may use the term "Big Red" because craps tables once prominently featured a large red "7" in the center of the layout for the one-roll seven bet. During the comeout, the seven is called "seven, front line winner", frequently followed by "pay the line" and / or "take the don'ts". After the point is established, a seven is typically called by simply "7 out" or "7 out 7".. ;Eight (hard) — "Eighter from Decatur", "Ada from Decatur", "Square Pair", "Mom and Dad", "Ozzie and Harriet" : rolled the hard way, as opposed to an "easy eight", is sometimes called an "eighter from Decatur". It can also be known as a "square pair", "mom and dad", or "Ozzie and Harriet". ;Nine — "Centerfield Nine", "Railroad Nine", "Jesse James", "Nina from Pasadena", "Nina at the Marina", "Niner from Carolina", Old Mike" : is called a "centerfield nine" in casinos in which nine is one of the field rolls, because nine is the center number shown on the layout in such casinos (2–3–4–9–10–11–12). In Atlantic City, a four-five is called a "railroad nine". The four-five nine is also known as "Jesse James" because the outlaw Jesse James was killed by a .45 caliber pistol. Other names for the nine include "Nina from Pasadena", "Nina at the Marina", and "niner from Carolina". Nine can also be referred to as "Old Mike", named after NBA Hall-of-Famer Michael Jordan, who wore No. 9 in his FIBA international career, when players could only wear numbers 4 to 15. ;Ten (hard) — "Big Dick", "Big Dick from Boston", "Big Dick the Ladies' Friend", "Dos Equis", "Puppy Paws", "Pair of Sunflowers", "Big John" : the hard way is "a hard ten", "dos equis" (Spanish, meaning "two X's", because the pip arrangement on both dice on this roll resembles "XX"), or "Hard ten – a woman's best friend", an example of both rhyming slang and sexual double entendre. Ten as a pair of fives may also be known as "puppy paws" or "a pair of sunflowers" or "Big Dick" or "Big John." Another slang for a hard ten is "moose head", because it resembles a moose's antlers. This phrase came from players in the Pittsburgh area. ;Eleven — "Yo", "Yo-leven", "Six Five No Jive" : called out as "yo" or "yo-leven" to prevent being misheard as "seven". An older term for eleven is "six five, no jive" because it is a winning roll. During the comeout, eleven is typically followed by "front line winner". After the point is established, "good field and come" is often added. ;Twelve — "Boxcars", "Midnight", "Double-action Field Traction", "12 Craps 12" : known as "boxcars" because the spots on the two dice that show six-six look like schematic drawings of railroad boxcars; it is also called "midnight", referring to twelve o'clock; and also as "double-action field traction", because of the (standard) 2-to-1 pay on Field bets for this roll and the fact that the arrangement of the pips on the two dice, when laid end-to-end, resemble tire tracks. On tables that pay triple the field on a twelve roll, the stickman will often loudly exclaim "triple" either alone or in combination with "12 craps 12" or "come away triple". Rolls of 4, 6, 8, and 10 are called "hard" or "gag", when rolled as a double, or "easy", when rolled with two different numbers. For example, rolls will be called "six the hard way", "easy eight", "hard ten", etc., because of their significance in center table bets known as the "hard ways". Hard way rolls are so named because there is only one way to roll them (i.e., the value on each die is the same when the number is rolled). Consequently, it is more likely to roll the number in different-number combinations (easy) rather than as a double (hard). == Bet odds and summary ==

:Note: Individual casinos may pay some of these bets at different payout ratios than those listed below. Some bets are listed more than once below – the most common payout in North American casinos is listed first, followed by other known variants. :Note: "True Odds" do not vary. The probability of dice combinations determine the odds of the payout. There are a total of 36 (6 × 6) possible combinations when rolling two dice. The following chart shows the dice combinations needed to roll each number. The two and twelve are the hardest to roll since only one combination of dice is possible. The game of craps is built around the dice roll of seven, since it is the most easily rolled dice combination. Viewed another way: The expected value of all bets is usually negative, such that the average player will always lose money. This is because the house always sets the paid odds to below the actual odds. The only exception is the "odds" bet that the player is allowed to make after a point is established on a pass / come Don't Pass / Don't Come bet (the odds portion of the bet has a long-term expected value of 0). However, this "free odds" bet cannot be made independently, so the expected value of the entire bet, including odds, is still negative. Since there is no correlation between die rolls, there is normally no possible long-term winning strategy in craps. There are occasional promotional variants that provide either no house edge or even a player edge. One example is a field bet that pays 3:1 on 12 and 2:1 on either 3 or 11. Overall, given the 5:4 true odds of this bet, and the weighted average paid odds of approximately 7:5, the player has a 5% advantage on this bet. This is sometimes seen at casinos running limited-time incentives, in jurisdictions or gaming houses that require the game to be fair, or in layouts for use in informal settings using play money. No casino currently runs a craps table with a bet that yields a player edge full-time. Maximizing the size of the odds bet in relation to the line bet will reduce, but never eliminate the house edge, and will increase variance. Most casinos have a limit on how large the odds bet can be in relation to the line bet, with single, double, and five times odds common. Some casinos offer 3–4–5 odds, referring to the maximum multiple of the line bet a player can place in odds for the points of 4 and 10, 5 and 9, and 6 and 8, respectively. During promotional periods, a casino may even offer 100× odds bets, which reduces the house edge to almost nothing, but dramatically increases variance, as the player will be betting in large betting units. Since several of the multiple roll bets pay off in ratios of fractions on the dollar, it is important that the player bets in multiples that will allow a correct payoff in complete dollars. Normally, payoffs will be rounded down to the nearest dollar, resulting in a higher house advantage. These bets include all place bets, taking odds, and buying on numbers 6, 8, 5, and 9, as well as laying all numbers. ==Types of wagers==

Line bets The shooter is required to make either a Pass line bet or a Don't Pass bet if he wants to shoot. On the come out roll each player may only make one bet on the Pass or Don't Pass, but may bet both if desired. The Pass Line and Don't Pass bet is optional for any player not shooting. In rare cases, some casinos require all players to make a minimum Pass Line or Don't Pass bet (if they want to make any other bet), whether they are currently shooting or not. Pass line The basic bet in craps is the Pass line bet, which is a bet for the shooter to win. Bonus Craps: Prior to the initial "come out roll", players may place an optional wager (usually a $1 minimum to a maximum $25) on one or more of the three Bonus Craps wagers, "All Small", "All Tall", or "All or Nothing at All." For players to win the "All Small" wager, the shooter must hit all five small numbers (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) before a seven is rolled; similarly, "All Tall" wins if all five high numbers (8, 9, 10, 11, 12) are hit before a seven is rolled. These bets pay 35-for-1, for a house advantage of 7.76%. "All or Nothing at All" wins if the shooter hits all 10 numbers before a seven is rolled. This pays 176-for-1, for a house edge of 7.46%. For all three wagers, the order in which the numbers are hit does not matter. Whenever a seven is hit, including on the come out roll, all bonus bets lose, the bonus board is reset, and new bonus bets may be placed. Multiple different bets A player may wish to make multiple different bets. For example, a player may be wish to bet $1 on all hard ways and the horn. If one of the bets win the dealer may automatically replenish the losing bet with profits from the winning bet. In this example, if the shooter rolls a hard 8 (pays 9:1), the horn loses. The dealer may return $5 to the player and place the other $4 on the horn bet which lost. If the player does not want the bet replenished, they should request any or all bets be taken down. Working and not working bets A working bet is a live bet. Bets may also be on the board, but not in play and therefore not working. Pass line and come bets are always working meaning the chips are in play and the player is therefore wagering live money. Other bets may be working or not working depending whether a point has been established or player's choice. Place and buy bets are working by default when a point is established and not working when the point is off unless the player specifies otherwise. Lay bets are always working even if a point has not been established unless the player requests otherwise. At any time, a player may wish to take any bet or bets out of play. The dealer will put an "Off" button on the player's specific bet or bets; this allows the player to keep his chips on the board without a live wager. For example, if a player decides not to wager a place bet mid-roll but wishes to keep the chips on the number, they may request the bet be "not working" or "Off". The chips remain on the table, but the player cannot win from or lose chips which are not working. The opposite is also allowed. By default place and buy bets are not working without an established point; a player may wish to wager chips before a point has been established. In this case, the player would request the bet be working in which the dealer will place an "On" button on the specified chips. Betting variants These variants depend on the casino and the table, and sometimes a casino will have different tables that use or omit these variants and others. • 11 is a point number instead of a natural. Rolling an 11 still pays "Yo" center-table bets, but the Pass line does not automatically win (and the Don't Pass line does not automatically lose) when 11 is rolled on the come-out. Making the point pays 3:1 on Pass / Come odds bets (1:3 on Don't Pass / Come odds); all line bets are still even money. This substantially reduces the odds of a natural (from 8 / 36 to 6 / 36) and of making the point in general (since a 3:1 dog is added to the mix). All other things equal, the house edge on the Pass Line and Come bets for this play variation jumps dramatically to 9.75%. • 12 pays 3:1 on the field. This is generally seen in rooms that have two different table minimums, on the tables with the higher minimums. The lower minimum ones will then have 2:1 odds. For example, the Mirage casino in Las Vegas features 3:1 odds. • 11 pays 2:1 on the field. This variant is normally used when 12 pays 3:1, and neutralizes the house edge on the field. • Big 6 / 8 are unavailable. These bets are equivalent to placing or buying 6 or 8 as points, which have better payout for the same real odds, so Big 6 / 8 are rarely used and many casinos simply omit them from the layout. Casinos in Atlantic City are even prohibited by law from offering Big 6 / 8 bets. ==Optimal betting==

When craps is played in a casino, all bets have a house advantage. That is, it can be shown mathematically that a player will (with 100% probability) lose all their money to the casino in the long run, while in the short run the player is more likely to lose money than make money. There may be players who are lucky and get ahead for a period of time, but in the long run these winning streaks are eroded away. One can slow, but not eliminate, one's average losses by only placing bets with the smallest house advantage. The Pass / Don't Pass line, Come / Don't Come line, place 6, place 8, buy 4 and buy 10 (only under the casino rules where commission is charged only on wins) have the lowest house edge in the casino, and all other bets will, on average, lose money between three and twelve times faster because of the difference in house edges. The place bets and buy bets differ from the Pass line and come line, in that place bets and buy bets can be removed at any time, since, while they are multi-roll bets, their odds of winning do not change from roll to roll, whereas Pass line bets and come line bets are a combination of different odds on their first roll and subsequent rolls. The first roll of a Pass line bet is 2:1 advantage for the player (8 wins, 4 losses), but it is "paid for" by subsequent rolls that are at the same disadvantage to the player as the Don't Pass bets were at an advantage. As such, they cannot profitably let the player take down the bet after the first roll. Players can bet or lay odds behind an established point depending on whether it was a Pass / Come or Don't Pass / Don't Come to lower house edge by receiving true odds on the point. Casinos which allow put betting allows players to increase or make new pass / come bets after the come-out roll. This bet generally has a higher house edge than place betting, unless the casino offers high odds. Conversely, a player can take back (pick up) a Don't Pass or Don't Come bet after the first roll, but this cannot be recommended, because they already endured the disadvantaged part of the combination – the first roll. On that come-out roll, they win just 3 times (2 and 3), while losing 8 of them (7 and 11) and pushing one (12) out of the 36 possible rolls. On the other 24 rolls that become a point, their Don't Pass bet is now to their advantage by 6:3 (4 and 10), 6:4 (5 and 9) and 6:5 (6 and 8). If a player chooses to remove the initial Don't Come and / or Don't Pass line bet, they can no longer lay odds behind the bet and cannot re-bet the same Don't Pass and / or Don't Come number (players must make a new Don't Pass or come bets if desired). However, players can still make standard lay bets odds on any of the point numbers (4,5,6,8,9,10). Among these, and the remaining numbers and possible bets, there are a myriad of systems and progressions that can be used with many combinations of numbers. An important alternative metric is house advantage per roll (rather than per bet), which may be expressed in loss per hour. The typical pace of rolls varies depending on the number of players, but 102 rolls per hour is a cited rate for a nearly full table. This same reference states that only "29.6% of total rolls are come out rolls, on average", so for this alternative metric, needing extra rolls to resolve the Pass line bet, for example, is factored. This number then permits calculation of rate of loss per hour, and per the 4 day / 5 hour per day gambling trip: • $10 Pass line bets 0.42% per roll, $4.28 per hour, $86 per trip • $10 Place 6,8 bets 0.46% per roll, $4.69 per hour, $94 per trip • $10 Place 5,9 bets 1.11% per roll, $11.32 per hour, $226 per trip • $10 Place 4,10 bets 1.19% per roll, $12.14 per hour, $243 per trip • $1 Single Hardways 2.78% per roll, $2.84 per hour, $56.71 per trip • $1 All hardways 2.78% per roll, $11.34 per hour, $227 per trip • $5 All hardways 2.78% per roll, $56.71 per hour, $1134 per trip • $1 Craps only on come out 3.29% per roll, $3.35 per hour, $67.09 per trip • $1 Eleven only on come out 3.29% per roll, $3.35 per hour, $67.09 per trip ==Table rules==

Besides the rules of the game itself, a number of formal and informal rules are commonly applied in the table form of Craps, especially when played in a casino. To reduce the potential opportunity for switching dice by sleight-of-hand, players are not supposed to handle the dice with more than one hand (such as shaking them in cupped hands before rolling) nor take the dice past the edge of the table. If a player wishes to change shooting hands, they may set the dice on the table, let go, then take them with the other hand. When throwing the dice, the player is expected to hit the farthest wall at the opposite end of the table (these walls are typically augmented with pyramidal structures to ensure highly unpredictable bouncing after impact). Casinos will sometimes allow a roll that does not hit the opposite wall as long as the dice are thrown past the middle of the table; a very short roll will be nullified as a "no roll". The dice may not be slid across the table and must be tossed. These rules are intended to prevent dexterous players from physically influencing the outcome of the roll. Players are generally asked not to throw the dice above a certain height (such as the eye level of the dealers). This is both for the safety of those around the table, and to eliminate the potential use of such a throw as a distraction device in order to cheat. Some may also discourage or disallow unsanitary practices such as kissing or spitting on the dice. In most casinos, players are not allowed to hand anything directly to dealers, and vice versa. Items such as cash, checks, and chips are exchanged by laying them down on the table; for example, when "buying in" (paying cash for chips), players are expected to place the cash on the layout: the dealer will take it and then place the chips in front of the player. This rule is enforced in order to allow the casino to easily monitor and record all transfers via overhead surveillance cameras, and to reduce the opportunity for cheating via sleight-of-hand. Most casinos prohibit "call bets", and may have a warning such as "No Call Bets" printed on the layout to make this clear. This means a player may not call out a bet without also placing the corresponding chips on the table. Such a rule reduces the potential for misunderstanding in loud environments, as well as disputes over the amount that the player intended to bet after the outcome has been decided. Some casinos choose to allow call bets once players have bought-in. When allowed, they are usually made when a player wishes to bet at the last second, immediately before the dice are thrown, to avoid the risk of obstructing the roll. == Etiquette ==

Craps is among the most social and most superstitious of all gambling games, which leads to an enormous variety of informal rules of etiquette that players may be expected to follow. An exhaustive list of these is beyond the scope of this article, but the guidelines below are most commonly given. Tips Tipping the dealers is universal and expected in Craps. As in most other casino games, a player may simply place (or toss) chips onto the table and say, "For the dealers", "For the crew", etc. In craps, it is also common to place a bet for the dealers. This is usually done one of three ways: by placing an ordinary bet and simply declaring it for the dealers, as a "two-way", or "on top". A "Two-Way" is a bet for both parties: for example, a player may toss in two chips and say "Two Way Hard Eight", which will be understood to mean one chip for the player and one chip for the dealers. Players may also place a stack of chips for a bet as usual, but leave the top chip off-center and announce "on top for the dealers". The dealer's portion is often called a "toke" bet, which comes from the practice of using $1 slot machine tokens to place dealer bets in some casinos. In some cases, players may also tip each other, for example as a show of gratitude to the thrower for a roll on which they win a substantial bet. Superstition Craps players routinely practice a wide range of superstitious behaviors, and may expect or demand these from other players as well. Most prominently, it is universally considered bad luck to say the word "seven" (after the "come-out", a roll of 7 is a loss for "pass" bets). Dealers themselves often make significant efforts to avoid calling out the number. When necessary, participants may refer to seven with a "nickname" such as "Big Red" (or just "Red"), "the S-word", etc. ==Dice setting or dice control==

An approach to achieving an advantage is to "set" the dice in a particular orientation, and then throw them in such a manner that they do not tumble randomly. The theory is that given exactly the same throw from exactly the same starting configuration, the dice will tumble in the same way and therefore show the same or similar values every time. Casinos take steps to prevent this. The dice are usually required to hit the back wall of the table, which is normally faced with a jagged angular texture such as pyramids, making controlled spins more difficult. There has been no independent evidence that such methods can be successfully applied in a real casino. ==Variants==

Bank craps is a variation of the original craps game and is sometimes known as Las Vegas Craps. This variant is quite popular in Nevada gambling houses, and its availability online has now made it a globally played game. Bank craps uses a special table layout and all bets must be made against the house. In Bank Craps, the dice are thrown over a wire or a string that is normally stretched a few inches from the table's surface. The lowest house edge (for the Pass / Don't Pass) in this variation is around 1.4%. Generally, if the word "craps" is used without any modifier, it can be inferred to mean this version of the game, to which most of this article refers. The biggest difference between crapless craps and original craps is that the shooter (person throwing the dice) is at a far greater disadvantage and has a house edge of 5.38%. Another difference is that this is one of the craps games in which a player can bet on rolling a 2, 3, 11 or 12 before a 7 is thrown. In crapless craps, 2 and 12 have odds of 11:2 and have a house edge of 7.143% while 3 and 11 have odds of 11:4 with a house edge of 6.25%. New York Craps is one of the variations of craps played mostly in the Eastern coast of the US, true to its name. History states that this game was actually found and played in casinos in Yugoslavia, the UK and the Bahamas. In this craps variant, the house edge is greater than Las Vegas Craps or Bank craps. The table layout is also different, and is called a double-end-dealer table. This variation is different from the original craps game in several ways, but the primary difference is that New York craps does not allow Come or Don't Come bets. New York Craps Players bet on box numbers like 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or 10. The overall house edge in New York craps is 5%. ==Card-based variations==

In order to get around Californian laws barring the payout of a game being directly related to the roll of dice, Indian reservations have adapted the game to substitute cards for dice. Cards replacing dice To replicate the original dice odds exactly without dice or possibility of card-counting, one scheme uses two shuffle machines each with just one deck of Ace through 6 each. Each machine selects one of the 6 cards at random and this is the roll. The selected cards are replaced and the decks are reshuffled for the next roll. In one variation, two shoes are used, each containing some number of regular card decks that have been stripped down to just the Aces and deuces through sixes. The boxman simply deals one card from each shoe and that is the roll on which bets are settled. Since a card-counting scheme is easily devised to make use of the information of cards that have already been dealt, a relatively small portion (less than 50%) of each shoe is usually dealt in order to protect the house. In a similar variation, cards representing dice are dealt directly from a continuous shuffling machine (CSM). Typically, the CSM will hold approximately 264 cards, or 44 sets of 1 through 6 spot cards. Two cards are dealt from the CSM for each roll. The game is played exactly as regular craps, but the roll distribution of the remaining cards in the CSM is slightly skewed from the normal symmetric distribution of dice. Even if the dealer were to shuffle each roll back into the CSM, the effect of buffering a number of cards in the chute of the CSM provides information about the skew of the next roll. Analysis shows this type of game is biased towards the Don't Pass and Don't Come bets. A player betting Don't Pass and Don't Come every roll and laying 10x odds receives a 2% profit on the initial Don't Pass / Don't Come bet each roll. Using a counting system allows the player to attain a similar return at lower variance. Cards mapping physical dice In this game variation, one red deck and one blue deck of six cards each (A through 6), and a red die and a blue die are used. Each deck is shuffled separately, usually by machine. Each card is then dealt onto the layout, into the 6 red and 6 blue numbered boxes. The shooter then shoots the dice. The red card in the red-numbered box corresponding to the red die, and the blue card in the blue-numbered box corresponding to the blue die are then turned over to form the roll on which bets are settled. Another variation uses a red and a blue deck of 36 custom playing cards each. Each card has a picture of a two-die roll on it – from one-one to six-six. The shooter shoots what looks like a red and a blue die, called "cubes". They are numbered such that they can never throw a pair, and that the blue one will show a higher value than the red one exactly half the time. One such scheme could be two-two-two-five-five-five on the red die and three-three-three-four-four-four on the blue die. One card is dealt from the red deck and one is dealt from the blue deck. The shooter throws the "cubes" and the color of the cube that is higher selects the color of the card to be used to settle bets. On one such table, an additional one-roll prop bet was offered: If the card that was turned over for the "roll" was either one-one or six-six, the other card was also turned over. If the other card was the "opposite" (six-six or one-one, respectively) of the first card, the bet paid 500:1 for this 647:1 proposition. And additional variation uses a single set of 6 cards, and regular dice. The roll of the dice maps to the card in that position, and if a pair is rolled, then the mapped card is used twice, as a pair. ==Rules of play against other players ("Street Craps")==

Recreational or informal playing of craps outside of a casino is referred to as street craps or private craps. The most notable difference between playing street craps and bank craps is that there is no bank or house to cover bets in street craps. Players must bet against each other by covering or fading each other's bets for the game to be played. If money is used instead of chips and depending on the laws of where it is being played, street craps can be an illegal form of gambling. There are many variations of street craps. The simplest way is to either agree on or roll a number as the point, then roll the point again before rolling a seven. Unlike more complex proposition bets offered by casinos, street craps has more simplified betting options. The shooter is required to make either a Pass or a Don't Pass bet if he wants to roll the dice. Another player must choose to cover the shooter to create a stake for the game to continue. If there are several players, the rotation of the player who must cover the shooter may change with the shooter (comparable to a blind in poker). The person covering the shooter will always bet against the shooter. For example, if the shooter made a "Pass" bet, the person covering the shooter would make a "Don't Pass" bet to win. Once the shooter is covered, other players may make Pass / Don't Pass bets, or any other proposition bets, as long as there is another player willing to cover. ==In popular culture==

Due to the random nature of the game, in popular culture a "crapshoot" is often used to describe an action with an unpredictable outcome. The prayer or invocation "Baby needs a new pair of shoes!" is associated with shooting craps. Floating craps Floating craps is an illegal operation of craps. The term floating refers to the practice of the game's operators using portable tables and equipment to quickly move the game from location to location to stay ahead of the law enforcement authorities. The 1950 Broadway musical Guys and Dolls features a major plot point revolving around a floating craps game. In the 1950s and 1960s The Sands Hotel in Las Vegas had a craps table that floated in the swimming pool, as a joke reference to the notoriety of the term. Records A Golden Arm is a craps player who rolls the dice for longer than one hour without losing. Likely the first known Golden Arm was Oahu native Stanley Fujitake, who rolled 118 times without sevening out in 3 hours and 6 minutes at the California Hotel and Casino on May 28, 1989. The current record for length of a "hand" (successive rounds won by the same shooter) is 154 rolls including 25 passes by Patricia DeMauro of New Jersey, lasting 4 hours and 18 minutes, at the Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on May 23–24, 2009. She bested by over an hour the record held for almost 20 years – that of Fujitake. == See also ==